Journalism and Truth in an Age of Social Media

"""Katz and Mays assembled a stellar group of experts on journalism from across the social and behavior sciences, the humanities, and technology fields to inquire about the construction, circulation, and reception of truth. This volume illuminates critical challenges and opportunities that contemporary media face, which will be of great interest to scholars, students, practitioners, and the general public"" -- Pablo J. Boczkowski, Northwestern University ""How do journalists and citizens adapt to the social media age? How do we navigate fake news and clickbait headlines, how do news organizations maintain credibility and pursue truth amidst against the rising tide of propaganda? In Journalism and Truth in an Age of Social Media, Katz and Mays have assembled many of the leading scholars in the field to help sort through these questions. The book highlights what is new and what is old about the problems facing journalism today. It eschews easy answers and grapples with the rich and complex issues that will dominate public discussion for years to come."" -- David Karpf, author of Analytic Activism: Digital Listening and the New Political Strategy ""Journalism and the Search for Truth in an Age of Social Media brings together an impressive array of leading scholars who get beyond the 'fake news' headlines to illuminate the complicated problem of truth in contemporary democracy. This highly accessible volume is unique in contextualizing truth historically and providing an interdisciplinary lens onto the effects of social media on journalism, and political and social life more broadly. This book will animate classroom discussions in the years to come, and make a lasting contribution to the debate over technology, journalism, and the shape of public life."" -- Daniel Kreiss, author of Prototype Politics: Technology-Intensive Campaigning and the Data of Democracy ""This is precisely the book we need for a bewildering media moment. It offers a delightful dose of historical perspective as well as contemporary clarity about the 'fake news' phenomenon and its implications for journalism and public life. Some of the very best thinkers on these issues, brought together in these pages, reveal key insights for making sense of facts, fakes, and truth in a social media world."" -- Seth C. Lewis, Shirley Papé Chair in Emerging Media, University of Oregon ""With mainstream journalism under often scathing attack by citizens and politicians, these chapters provide an excellent introduction to and clarification of critical phrases like 'fake news,' 'news bias,' and 'truth in journalism.' Its broad scope and the authors' depth of knowledge provide impressive value for general readers, students, and scholars from areas as diverse as philosophy, information science, political science, communication, and journalism. A just-right collection for understanding journalism struggling in the digital epoch."" -- Esther Thorson, Michigan State University ""Journalism, Truth, Social Media: three topics that are top of mind in society at large as well as the academy. This book tackles provocative issues connected to the tumult-causing triad in ways guaranteed to ignite energetic discussions in classrooms, book clubs, and individual readers."" -- Joseph Turow, University of Pennsylvania"